To the editor:

Our family was fortunate to have tickets to the “For the Love of Jeff” barbecue dinner at Suffolk Christian Church on Friday.

The barbecue was worth writing about, the sweet potatoes and cole slaw delicious side dishes and the hush puppies fried on site were the bonus attraction.

It is a testament to the Suffolk community that this was such a success — businesses and individuals donated time, supplies and money; the North Suffolk Ruritan Club helped sponsor the dinner and headed up the ticket sales; many individuals bought tickets and sold even more to friends and family; the committee worked tirelessly these past few months planning, ordering supplies, setting up the dine-in area and the drive-up lane and advertising the event throughout the area; drivers drove all over Suffolk delivering dinners to those who could not get downtown. And, three cheers to the kitchen staff who were at church before dawn to make the sweet potatoes, heat the barbecue and so on. And we can’t forget the bakers who donated fabulous desserts that were offered for a donation if one had a yen for something sweet at the end of the meal.

That said, we believe a special “thank you” goes to Calvin and Evelyn Jones, who organized the event. Their leadership helped make the day something so extraordinary.

We are thankful that we could be just a small part of this huge community effort.

Judy and David Parker

Suffolk